Competitive and Valor ranks are a unique progression system tied to Destiny 2’s Crucible mode. Based on the game type you’re playing, you will accumulate points towards a ranking system that grants rewards as you reach higher subdivisions and new divisions.
Leveling your Valor rank is a great way to earn Masterwork materials, and it’s required to complete certain Seasonal Challenges. Competitive Divisions show how skilled you are in Competitive Crucible and grant Powerful Gear for each subdivision and major division you reach. If you’re interested in leveling quickly or enjoy Destiny 2’s PvP component, you’ll want to increase both of these ranks.
Updated July 3, 2023, by Charles Burgar: Season of the Deep has brought back the fan-favorite Randy’s Throwing Knife, adding it to the Crucible loot pool with a refreshed perk pool. We’ve updated this guide to include up-to-date drop tables for PvP, including Engram Focusing and Competitive PvP offerings.
Valor Ranks
The Quickplay playlist has Skill-Based Matchmaking enabled, matchmaking players based on skill level over connection quality. Expect tougher matches if you’re an above-average PvP player. Bring good loadouts before entering this playlist.
Valor ranks (called «Crucible Ranks» in-game) are tied to non-competitive Crucible game types such as Quickplay, Crucible Labs, and rotating playlists. Players can only gain Valor ranks; losses do not reduce your Valor points. Valor ranks and their point progression are listed below.
|
Valor Ranks |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
Valor Requirement |
Rank-Up Requirement |
|
Guardian I |
None |
50 |
|
Guardian II |
50 |
75 |
|
Guardian III |
125 |
125 |
|
Brave I |
250 |
250 |
|
Brave II |
500 |
450 |
|
Brave III |
950 |
600 |
|
Heroic I |
1,550 |
375 |
|
Heroic II |
1,925 |
600 |
|
Heroic III |
2,525 |
825 |
|
Fabled I |
3,350 |
525 |
|
Fabled II |
3,875 |
775 |
|
Fabled III |
4,650 |
1,050 |
|
Mythic I |
5,700 |
750 |
|
Mythic II |
6,450 |
1,075 |
|
Mythic III |
7,525 |
1,475 |
|
Legend |
9,000 |
1,000 |
Legend(Max Rank) |
10,000 |
N/A; reset is available |
How To Earn Valor
Bounties might not grant Valor anymore, but Bungie overhauled the Win Streak system into what’s called an Activity Streak. Even if you aren’t very good at PvP, ranking up your Valor shouldn’t be as much of a slog now.
Earn Valor Activity Streaks
Activity Streaks are when you play consecutive Valor playlist Crucible games. The game type in question can change from game to game—playing a Quickplay and rotating playlist match back-to-back will contribute to your streak, for example—but they must be consecutive. Activity Streaks will grant increased Valor until you reach five or more consecutive matches played, at which point their Valor bonus will cap out.
The following conditions will reduce your Activity Streak by one or more:
- Visit a destination.
- Exclusions include the Tower, H.E.L.M, and returning to orbit.
- Leave a Crucible game currently in progress.
- Play any other activity.
- This completely resets your current Activity Streak.
Exiting Destiny 2 does not remove your streak.
Play Crucible During Double Valor Weeks
Bungie will periodically grant double Valor earnings during certain weeks. Both match completions and Activity Streaks are impacted. These bonus Valor weeks aren’t listed on a content calendar, so it’s best to keep your eyes out for a message on the «Next Week in Destiny» post when you reach the login screen. If a double Valor week is active, you’ll get a notification stating Valor rates are increased when you enter orbit for the first time that week. A modifier should also appear when selecting any PvP playlist that denotes the increased rep gains.
Competitive Divisions Explained
The Competitive playlist and Glory Ranks have seen massive overhauls in Season of the Seraph. Glory Ranks have been replaced with Competitive Divisions, a ladder ranking system that prioritizes skill above all else. Old Glory ranks of Fabled, Mythic, and Legend have been removed, replaced with seven new divisions and three subdivisions for each. We’ll cover these divisions in just a second.
Competitive Divisions are earned by playing in the Competitive Playlist. Competitive is a 3v3 playlist consisting of Rift, Survival, and Showdown. This playlist has SBMM (skill-based matchmaking) enabled, matchmaking you with Guardians based on skill over connection quality. Compared to the Quickplay playlist, Comp’s implementation of SBMM is slightly stronger. Connection quality might suffer if you play during off-hours in your region.
Climbing The Competitive Division Ladder
Competitive Divisions are broken up into seven divisions and three subdivisions. To receive a Competitive Division rank, you must play seven placement games in the Competitive Playlist. Placement matches will match you with a wide range of skill levels, so don’t expect to win all seven matches. Your performance in these matches will dictate your initial Competitive Division.
The ladder ranks look something like this:
These values might have a small degree of error. Due to Comp’s various scoring factors and promo series mechanic, it’s difficult getting precise numbers for division rank-ups.
Upon reaching max rank in a main division, you’ll be placed into a Promotion Series. You must win two of the next three games you play to reach the next division. If you fail a Promotion Series, you’ll enter a Relegation Series. You must win two of the next three matches to keep your current Competitive Division.
Fail the Relegation Series, and you’ll be demoted to the next subdivision (Gold I -> Gold II, for example). If you are at the breakpoint between divisions, you’ll get demoted an entire division instead—if you were at Gold III and failed your Relegation, you’ll be demoted to Silver I. You’ll have to rank up again and try another Promotion Series to regain your lost points.
How To Increase Your Competitive Division Points
Competitive Division points are earned by winning matches in the Competitive Playlist. You earn points for kills, assists, playing the objective, and winning matches. Unlike Valor, there doesn’t seem to be an Activity Streak or Win Streak bonus here; winning multiple matches won’t inherently give more points. With that said, Comp does have two unique point-generating mechanics:
- Skill Catch-Up: If your skill is substantially higher than your current division, you’ll earn significantly more points per match until you match equal-skilled opponents.
- Conversely, playing in lobbies far tougher than usual will minimize point losses.
- Player Performance: The better you perform, the more points you’ll earn. This also applies to losses, minimizing points lost if you played well.
- You can never lose points from winning or gain points for losing, regardless of your personal performance.
As you can see, earning points is all about playing well and winning matches. If you’re curious how this score system works, Bungie covers it in this Lightfall Crucible blog.
Your best way of earning points is to play with your team. Help your fellow Guardians win their duels, capture objectives, and revive them whenever they die (if the mode allows). Sticking with your team is the best way of improving your odds of winning. Keep your eyes on the radar, bring meta loadouts, and keep your cool. If you start getting stressed out or lose two games in a row, take a break. Frustration will lead to more mistakes and cause more losses.
Avoid Division Decay
Unlike Valor, your Competitive Division will passively decay if you stop playing the Competitive Playlist. After reaching Gold III, failing to play Comp will result in point decay. You’ll want to play the Competitive Playlist to avoid this. Each Comp match you play grants a Division Protection Point, stacking up to 12 times. When the weekly reset occurs, you will immediately lose three of these points. If you have less than three points on reset, you’ll lose 250 Division Points, potentially demoting you. To avoid Division Decay, play three Comp matches before the weekly reset.
Valor And Competitive Rewards
PvP players have a means of earning Masterwork materials just by playing their favorite playlist. Valor will be your main source of gameplay-altering rewards like weapons and armor. Competitive doesn’t have many rewards currently, but what is there might be worth chasing if you’re a PvP player.
Valor Rewards
Increasing Valor ranks will grant an impressive number of rewards. Those that stick to the Crucible will find themselves with plenty of Masterwork materials and Exotic gear.
Increasing your Valor ranks will grant the following:
These rewards are account-bound.
|
Initial Reward |
Post-Reset Reward |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Rank-Ups |
x1 Crucible Engram (subranks count) |
x1 Crucible Engram (subranks count) |
|
Division Rank-Ups |
x1 Powerful Engram |
None |
|
Rank 4 |
x3 Enhancement Cores |
x3 Enhancement Cores |
|
Rank 7 |
Melting Point Shader |
x3 Enhancement Cores |
|
Rank 10 |
x2 Enhancement Prisms |
x2 Enhancement Prisms |
|
Rank 13 |
One Quiet Moment Projection |
x2 Enhancement Prisms |
|
Rank 16 |
Last Rite (Scout Rifle) |
Duelist Rubric Ornament |
|
x2 Enhancement Prisms |
||
|
Rank 16 Completed |
x1 Ascendant Shard |
x1 Exotic Engram |
For clarity, nearly every rank-up reward is tied to increasing your division rank in Valor PvP. For example, Rank 4 is the same as Brave I, Rank 7 is Heroic I, etc. Whenever a new season begins, your rank-up rewards will be reset as if you haven’t reset your Valor. You’ll be able to earn another Ascendant Shard, seasonal Shaders, and seasonal Emblems.
Competitive Rewards
Competitive Crucible currently has two rewards: the Mercurial Overreach Sniper Rifle and a Valor reputation buff. Mercurial Overreach is a 900 RPM Kinetic Sniper Rifle that can roll with Discord, allowing you to refund Special ammo on kills shortly after landing a Primary final blow. It’s also one of four Sniper Rifles that can roll with Mulligan, giving missed shots a chance to return to the magazine.
You can earn Mercurial Overreach by completing the weekly Competitive Playlist challenge in the Director. This is character bound, so anyone with multiple characters can earn up to three rolls each week. You’ll need to finish an introductory quest from Lord Shaxx before this weekly becomes available.
Beyond that, your Competitive Division also grants a Valor reputation bonus. This effect lasts as long as you remain in that division. The bonuses are as follows:
|
Valor Multipliers |
|
|---|---|
|
Copper |
1.0x |
|
Bronze |
1.0x |
|
Silver |
1.1x |
|
Gold |
1.2x |
|
Platinum |
1.3x |
|
Adept |
1.4x |
|
Ascendant |
1.5x |
Anyone interested in grinding Crucible weapons should consider playing a little bit of Competitive PvP. Just reaching Gold will grant 20% more Valor reputation, stacking with double Valor weeks (likely multiplicatively).
Crucible Playlist Rewards
As with all playlists in Destiny 2, you can expect to earn an exclusive armor set and various weapons while participating in the Crucible. The armor set is showcased above. All weapons you can earn from PvP (Valor and Comp playlists) can be found below. Trials of Osiris and Iron Banner weapons are excluded from this table; you can find their loot pools in their respective guides.
Crucible Focusing
Resetting your Valor rank will increase the number of perks each Crucible weapon rolls with (excluding Mercurial Overreach). Consider farming Valor rep before focusing Crucible Engrams.
Increasing your Valor will grant access to Crucible Engrams. Unlike your typical Legendary Engram, Crucible Engrams can be focused to drop specific PvP gear. Unlike Gambit, do not claim Crucible Engrams, as you can’t focus any Crucible Engrams in your inventory. You can focus these Engrams into any PvP item released in previous seasons, including armor sets from previous yearly expansions. Focusing a Crucible Engram can be done at Lord Shaxx and costs 25 Legendary Shards and 5,000 Glimmer.